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ay is Asian Heritage Month.
We
recognize
Socorro
(Cory) Alfonso, who came
to the Yukon in 1986 as one of the
first Filipino nannies to work here.
She was an adventurer, willing to
leave the familiar for unknown
challenges and the hope of a better life.
Members of the Hidden Histories
Society of the Yukon got to know
Cory in her retirement years, when
she recorded memories of hope,
persistence and courage as lived
throughout her life.
Cory fondly remembered her
birthplace on the small island of
Bacacay Albay with her large extended family, following subsistence lifeways by the ocean. Cory
recalled idyllic childhood days,
running through sand and waves
with siblings and cousins, eating
delicious fresh fruit and seafood,
cooled by soft breezes drifting
through their home built of woven
grasses and palm fronds. Most of all
she cherished the love of her family
and her whole community.
The family moved to a city
called Papanga near Manila in the
early 1950s when Cory was two
years old. Cory remembers her
mother telling her: “Socorro means
‘help’ in Spanish.”
From a young age she lived up
to her name, helping at home,
going to school and working parttime as she got older. The city was
more taxing than island life and
school fees were expensive. Losses
compounded their problems when
Cory’s mother died and her father
fell ill.
Cory made the first of many
moves to improve her situation, relocating to Manila at 14 to live with
relatives who paid her high school
fees in exchange for domestic work.
She returned to Papanga to look
after her father for several years,
moving back to Manila after he
died. After a decade of struggle at
low paying government jobs, she
launched into foreign adventures –
working as a caregiver in Singapore
for an elderly couple.
Then Canada beckoned, and she
accepted a job as a nanny in the
Yukon! A devout Roman Catholic,
Cory had prayed for help and she
thought: “…this is the answer, coming here in Canada. I lived in Singapore for two years… but if you have
a dream… come to Canada. Nothing
to stop me, so I came here.”
At first the Yukon was cold and
strange, but Cory was determined
to pursue her dreams. She lived
with several families, caring for
their children, while studying to

Socorro (Cory) Alfonso pictured
in Whitehorse, Yukon. At first
the Yukon was cold and strange,
but Cory was determined
to pursue her dreams.

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Hidden Histories Society Yukon

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improve her English. Cory firmly believed in education, advising young
people: “Just work and study hard,
that’s it… finish university or college… At the end, you don’t [say] to
yourself, ‘I wish I went to school.’
No, not like that. Go to school while
you’re young.”
The Philippines always remained
close to Cory’s heart. She sent
money and goods home to support
her family. She adopted a young girl
and paid for her school fees.
She always returned to her island home to soak up the sunshine
and warmth of family.
“Oh yeah. I love it,” she says.
“If you’ve got lots of kids in the
Philippines, you know, a neighbour
will be looking after you… lots of
people there know you… So, they
don’t need daycares there because
everybody can help.”
Cory was a pioneer of the Filipino community here, bringing her
gifts of love, humour and boundless
optimism to all who met her. She
was one of only six Filipinos living
in the Yukon in the mid-1980s.
Despite hardships brought on by
cancer a few years later, Cory never
gave up – persevering through long
and difficult treatments. Then she
went back to work for many more
years caring for others.
She valued friendships and
family above all, giving thanks to
“all the people that helped me
when I was sick… you can find a lot
of money, but friends that love you

Socorro (Cory)
Alfonso pictured as
a young girl in the
Philippines. Cory
fondly remembered
her birthplace on
the small island of
Bacacay Albay in
the Bicol Region of
the Philippines.

so much, is very seldom. So, treasure [them].”
One of her favourite pastimes
was karaoke – Celine Dion was her
idol, singing along with her, especially the high notes!
Cory battled cancer again in the
last years of her life. She returned
to the Philippines, knowing her
time was limited and wanting to be
near her family. She passed away
on March 9, 2017, mourned by hundreds of people in both countries.
Her gift to Hidden Histories Society
of the Yukon – and to all who hear
her stories through our recordings
and displays – is the gift of joie de
vivre – her joyful embrace of life
with all its challenges and changes,
her steadfast faith in her Christian
beliefs, her devotion to caring for
others, and her generous contributions to our community and the
world.
Her parents named her well at
birth – Socorro – she spent a lifetime helping all who came her way.
We send our heartfelt thanks to her
for sharing her stories with us, and
condolences to all her family and
friends in the loss of this very special person. See the Socorro Alfonso
exhibit at the Whitehorse Public Library this month.
Linda Johnson, with excerpts
from Cory Alfonso’s oral history
recorded in August 2014 for Hidden
Histories Society Yukon. For more
information about the society, go
to www.hhsy.org.

May 17, 2017

3

whatsupyukon.com

When the Land Has a Character

On the Cover
Man panning for gold at
Gold Bottom Creek
Photo:Gov't of Yukon/J Kennedy

by Michael Bramadat-Willcock
the chance to start writing because of my other projects… Now
I’m free to go at it.”
It’s not his first time in the
Yukon and Hill says that he has an
affinity for the North. “The North
itself has to be a character,” Hill
says. “It’s possible to write a story
about Toronto without experiencing the weather, but in the Yukon
the land, weather and climate are
going to affect the protagonist.
You need to think about the place
as a character.”
He says that the quality of one’s
experience in the North is affected
by the weather in a unique way
and sees it as imperative that,
while researching and writing the
book, he immerse himself in the
conditions that these soldiers lived
in. To whatever extent possible.
Hill is driving in the rain on his
way to a meeting somewhere in
Northern B.C. as we speak.
“It’s a very demanding landscape,” he says over the hands
free phone. “I feel like I should experience a time when the bugs are
really bad,” Hill says jokingly.
Hill says that the soldiers called
the mosquitoes “dive bombers”
because they would dive down at
you.
“I’d like to experience that. For
a day.”
Hill’s journey is a prelude to his
upcoming 2018 residency in Dawson City, where he will continue his
research from a northerly location
during the colder months.
“The soldiers had to build this
highway and (the Canol) pipeline
in the winter. Since they knew all
seasons, I want to have a sense of

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Northwest Territories, linking it up
to an oil refinery in Whitehorse.
Hill will be stopping in various
locations along the Highway and
he’s he’s open to research tips

Michael Bramadat-Willcock is
editor at What’s Up Yukon. He’s
a journalist based in Whitehorse.
Lifestory available on request.

them in all seasons.”
Hill will be in Dawson
from Jan. 1 to March 31,
2018 and I don’t doubt that
he’ll enjoy the weather.
Hill also takes a keen interest in the cultural issues surrounding the Highway’s
construction.
“Building
the
Lawrence Hill is an award winning, best
highway revolutionselling
Canadian writer. He’s in the Yukon
ized the lives of the
researching a book project about the role of
people living next
to it. Indigenous
African American soldiers in the construction
people’s lives were
of the Alaska Highway. His latest book, The
especially altered.
Illegal,
is a fictional musing on the life of an
I’m very interested
in these social and
undocumented immigrant. He is the author
cultural issues.”
of the 2013 Massey Lecture Blood: The Stuff
Asked if he thinks
of Life, the 2007 novel The Book of Negroes
that the the history
and the 2001 memoir Black Berry, Sweet
of the Second World
War in Northern
Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada.
Canada is an understudied subject, Hill
says that he’s here to popularize from the public on the topic of the
a part of history that isn’t well Alaska Highway’s construction.
known enough. In this case the
Having just passed through Watcontribution of African Americans son Lake, Hill will be making stops
to an important part of our history. at the Burwash Landing Library at
A little known fact is that the 12 noon on May 17th, the Haines
soldiers working on the Highway Junction Library at 7p.m. on May
were largely African American.
18 and the Odd Fellows Hall in
“The soldiers were racially segDawson City at 7 p.m. on May 23rd.
regated with inferior living condiHe’ll be wrapping it up at 7:30
tions (compared) to whites,” says
p.m.
on the 24th at the Kwanlin
Hill.
Over the nine month initial con- Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse.
Hill will talk about his ongoing
struction period hundreds of these
soldiers – 500 or so of them black project and take research leads
– toiled under harsh conditions in from local residents. He will also
the Canadian wilderness of North- discuss his most recent novel, The
ern B.C. and the Yukon across to Illegal, a fictional story about the
Alaska. They were also instrumen- life of an undocumented refugee.
tal in building the now defunct The events are all free and open to
Canol oil pipeline, which ran from the public.
Norman Wells in the Northwest
For more information or to atTerritories, through the Yukon, to
tend one of Lawrence Hill’s talks
Alaska during the Second World
you can visit the Yukon Public LiWar. The project included the conbraries Facebook page or call them
struction of Canol Road from Johnson’s Crossing in the Yukon to the at (867) 667-5239.

PHOTO: Lisa Sakulensky

B

estselling Canadian author
Lawrence Hill pursues a
lifelong interest in African
diaspora narratives. As a part of
the research for a book he’s writing about the contribution of African American soldiers to the construction of the Alaska Highway,
Hill is travelling the Highway from
northern B.C. through the Yukon.
His first Yukon stop was in Watson
Lake and he finishes in Whitehorse
on May 24th.
The construction of the Alaska
Highway is what some call the
North’s historical equivalent to the
Trans Canada Railway. “It’s a similar story,” says Hill.
The initial construction of the
Alaska Highway was completed
between March and November in
1942 by American troops looking
for easier transport between the
American mainland and Alaska. At
the time, the United States and
Canada were worried about the
threat of a Japanese invasion in
the Northwest. “Alaska was the
weakest link,” says Hill.
The soldiers’ stories strike a
personal note for Hill. “My father
and grandfather were both named
Daniel Grafton Hill. Both were in
the U.S. Army, my father Daniel
G. Hill III was stationed with U.S.
army bases in the United States
in World War II, and Daniel Hill Jr.
was in the trenches of France in
World War I.”
Hill is glad to finally have the
time on his hands to pursue this
longtime interest. “It’s the kind
of story that speaks to me,” says
Hill. “I’ve been reading about it for
about five years, but I didn’t have

his was the second time that I
have had the pleasure of doing
an interview with Thorin Loeks.
The first time, which was in June last
year, he had just released his first album, Thirsty Hearts.
Since then he has been writing
more music and working hard on his
second album, Shine Through The
Dark. It’s now a year later, and he is
gearing up to release it.
Along with taking five courses
in the Communications program at
Capilano University in North Vancouver; working at the Lookout Society,
a charitable organization who support adults with no or a low income
who have few or no housing or support options; and spending around 20
hours in the studio, Loeks has a full
calendar.
But he says that if you are busy
doing the things you love, that’s a
meaningful use of time.
The first album was an all indiefolk album. With the second album,
the main genre is still going to be
indie-folk, but he is adding more
genres, instruments and sounds –
he is expanding and exploring new
areas.
“I really think it’s building off the
momentum of the first album,” he
says. “But even with the indie-folk,
I’m incorporating a lot more instruments.”
The album is going to have five
indie-folk songs, two blues songs
and one “kind of electronica, sort of
soulful alternative song,” as Loeks
calls it.
“Blues is something that has always spoken to me, so being able to
share that with a greater audience
will be exciting and then also kind of
showing ‘Hey, I’m interested in other
genres and this is something that has
been on my mind.’”
The circumstance under which
his electronica song, “Letting it Go,”
was written, is a story of it’s own.
Loeks said he had the lyrics in his
head for the last couple of months,
but didn’t finish writing the lyrics
until he was on the bus heading to
the studio.
“And I got to the studio, and recorded the vocal track – I had just
finished writing it as I walked into
the recording booth,” he says.
“The thing that I find with creativity – especially with my music – is
that it’s constantly evolving. So each
song is like a living thing that will
continue to take shape. And sometimes the foundation will always be
there, but then other elements and
lyrics will sort of evolve over time a
little bit and become more refined.”
Loeks said that the songs are almost like children, having a little life
of their own.
He is excited to bring a bunch of
contributing musicians into the stu-

PHOTO courtesy of Thorin Loeks

Thorin Loeks paddling the Wind River in 2015
dio with him for this album.
Joining him will be Ben Ryan on
the electric guitar, who is also releasing an album with the same producer, David Tallarico. Ryan’s roommate, Brandon Christie, will play
the drums and Loeks friend, Johnson
Cheung who is from Singapore, will
be playing the violin.
Loeks has also been involving his
two sisters with his album. His sister
Kaija will be singing the background
vocals on his song “Coming Home.”
His other sister Kita, will be doing
the album art.
“So I have both my siblings involved,” Loeks says.
Along with adding more genres,
instrument contributing artists,
Loeks will also be adding soundscapes.
“I’m also going to be adding some
soundscapes, so there is going to be
some nature sounds, to kind of add
more of a four-dimensional feel,”
Loeks says. Some of the songs, for
example, will have ocean sounds
and the sound of wind through the
leaves.
“I’m just excited to pour my
heart and soul into this and continue
the journey,” he says.
“As far as I can tell, there is no
one song in the same key on this
album. So my voice really changes
through each song. You can still tell
it’s my voice, but I think I really explore vocally with my voice, like all
kinds of different styles and sounds.
And there is going to be a lot more
throat singing, which I think will interest a lot of people.”
Loeks started to teach himself
how to throat sing about 10 years
ago after seeing an episode on National Geographic where he heard
“Tuvan” throat singing (which is the
style he is singing) for the first time.
He says that he was spellbound and
knew that he wanted to learn this.

So, he listened to recordings,
watched videos and spent many
hours experimenting before figuring
out how to produce and play with
the overtones.
Someday, he says, he would like
to go to Mongolia and learn properly
and more expansively from some of
the masters there.
He feels like he has always had a
calling for doing music.
“I knew that I had something
meaningful to share and I always
knew that I needed to do something
like this, and now that I am doing
it, it feels like I’m supposed to be
doing it,” Loeks says. “It really is a
sense of such deep satisfaction to integrate my music, I mean, it’s such a
seamless whole, my adventures and
the music and my passions in regard
to philosophy, life and society and all
those things, really are cohesive in
my writing and photography.
“Music is a way that can really
bring people together, regardless of
language barriers, regardless of distances and differences between us,
we can find that around the world
there is some incredible common
bond we have with music. Yet, at the
same time, incredible variation and
that is a beautiful thing about it.”
Loeks is going to be releasing his
album May 18th, with a album release show in Vancouver at the Anza
Club. The evening is going to start
with a songwriter circle which then
will be followed by Loeks performing
music from his new album with a full
band. If everything goes according
to plan, albums will be ready to for
purchase online two days before the
release party.
For more information on Thorin
Loeks’ music or to buy the new album, go to www.ThorinLoeks.com
or his Facebook page.
Maria Gruninger is a Whitehorsebased Freelance Writer

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May 17, 2017

5

whatsupyukon.com

What it means to be Canadian:
Trees blowing in the wind…and people dig for shining gold.
Outside campfires and cookouts are so fun!!!
But sometimes it is cold.
Inside it is warm and dry.
Fall comes and leaves start to fall.
Our dog Chloe licks her nails when they are sore and sometimes they fall off!
It is very fun in the Yukon... come visit us someday!
Our dogs sleep in the yard. They sleep almost all day!!!!
Snow starts to fall, time to go inside.

Go online to discover Yukon artists and
places to see and buy Yukon art

Your tire/wheel assemblies may be out of balance, if you notice a
shimmy or shake at a certain speed that goes away once you drive
faster or slower. However if the shake or shimmy continues at all
speeds then there may be another problem with your tire/wheel
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be a mechanical issue.

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Artist Brian Walker
in his studio.

Photo: Government of Yukon

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6

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May 17, 2017

A Feast of Jazz
PHOTO: Courtesy of Elaine Schiman

Check out local singers at the
Café des Voix nights May 29 at the
Westmark Whitehorse Hotel
by Elaine Schiman

J

azz lovers in Whitehorse often look at
each other and say, “There’s so much
music going on. And so much jazz!” And
there is.
We are blessed with an embarrassment of
riches when it comes to the arts.
However, jazz pianist Grant Simpson noticed a gap. After several vocal jazz workshops held by Jazz Yukon and the Yukon Summer Music Camp, there was a growing group
of jazz vocalists, but few venues to sing.
“After a workshop, there would be a rush
of enthusiasm, inspiration and excitement,
but it would soon die off,” says Simpson.
“There was no outlet for the singers to practice what they’d learned.”
So, Grant dreamed up the idea of Café
des Voix. It’s a recurring event that takes
place at Antoinette’s Restaurant and the
Westmark Whitehorse, with more venues to
come.
The Café des Voix features a potpourri
of voices, some well-known and others new
and emerging, with Simpson accompanying
most on piano. The jazz café setting offers a
warm ambiance and some surprises. People
you never imagined were singers are suddenly onstage wowing the crowd.
“I’d been practicing singing jazz with a
friend and we performed at some open mics,
but with Café des Voix I’ve been so excited
to sing at an actual venue,” says vocalist Deb
Jutra. “It’s so nice to work with an amazing
musician like Grant, and the cafés are delightful get-togethers. It’s inspiring to hear

other singers who are so
great.”
Café des Voix is similar to an open mic, but
the unique feature is
that singers don’t have
to bring a band or acA few of the Cafe des Voix singers and players after a performance at the Westmark
companist with them.
Instead, Simpson meets
Whitehorse Lounge. Left to right: Leith Hill, Coralie Langevin, Erin Evangeline Brost,
with each singer for a
Shauna Jones, Harold Sher, Malorie Gendreau, Sylvie Painchaud, Lillian Strauss,
brief rehearsal before
Olivier de Colombel, and Elaine Schiman, with Grant Simpson at piano, centre.
each Café, allowing for
more polished performances.
about a half dozen Café des Voix and loves event with Simpson, sometimes with guest
“This experience has been fantastic,” the opportunity. “You can try new songs and players on piano, guitar, saxophone or ukusays singer James McCullough. “It’s a great gain confidence. Café des Voix is the place to lele. At first, singers joined because of the
way to develop a repertoire, get comfort- try your hand, or voice, at singing jazz. It’s vocal jazz workshops held in recent years,
able with a microphone and play around. supportive and friendly. Plus a lot of fun.”
but now the Café des Voix is creating a buzz
Having Grant as a resource is key. He sugSylvie Painchaud is one of several franco- of its own and other singers are signing up
gests great songs and is fun to work with. phone singers who are part of Café des Voix.
Simpson sums it up this way: “It’s been a
I’ve been surprised by the breadth of music “I used to think jazz was not for me, that I joy to watch people develop as singers and
being sung. It’s not just jazz, it’s a great didn’t have the right kind of voice. But I’ve performers. The more they do it, the betnight out.”
become passionate about jazz composers ter they get. I’m impressed with the level
Brooke McLean Rudolph is a long time and want to learn more. The fact that Grant of challenge these singers continue to give
jazz fan, singer and musician, but hadn’t Simpson rehearses with us, suggests songs themselves – and throw at me!”
sung much jazz since university, until the and provides advice is crucial. He and all the
If you’re interested in singing or atCafé des Voix started.
singers are very supportive. The feeling in tending Café des Voix, check out their Face“It’s a wonderful way to get up and sing a the venue is hard to describe, but I will try: book page, or email CafedesVoix@gmail.com
few jazz tunes in a supportive atmosphere,” imagine yourself, after singing your songs, for more information.
she says. “It’s a friendly, encouraging and like a runner at the end of a marathon,
Upcoming Café des Voix events include
professional group of people who love good with many people waiting for you, hands 29 at the Westmark Whitehorse Lounge,
old standards. Jazz doesn’t have to be crazy extended, to celebrate your effort. That’s and July 9 in Atlin, during the Atlin Arts and
or experimental; most of the songs are very Café des Voix.”
Music Festival.
familiar.”
Café des Voix has about 25 singers on its
Elaine Schiman is a writer
Singer Sophia Marnik has performed at roster. Between six and 12 perform at each
based in Whitehorse

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t occurred to me while watching
the 2016 World Series between
the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians with my grandchildren
– their first World Series – that I
wasn’t doing a very good job of explaining the game to them because
we were all too busy watching the
historical action while eating bad
food and there was too much to
learn in too short of a timespan.
Not that they didn’t learn a lot
watching and asking a lot of good
questions, but the sheer immensity of what they didn’t know yet

Grandpa’s Baseball Book
Chapter 1: Origins of the Game
Although the game we now
call baseball is certainly a North
American invention that started in
the mid-19th century on the east
coast of America, it is actually a
marriage of two rural children’s
games, Rounders and Cricket,
played in England, Ireland and
Scotland. The first time the word
“baseball” appeared written in the
English language is in 1744; it is
found in a children’s book called A
Little Pretty Pocket-Book.

PHOTO: Pixabay

I decided these kids needed to take a course called “Baseball
101” before their second World Series in a year and it was my duty,
as a 70-year-old retired sportswriter, to author it for them.
must have mystified them, particularly Ruby, 5, who kept asking
“When can we go down and feed
the horses?”
I told her “during the 7th inning
stretch,” and she replied, “What’s
THAT?”
And all that her older brothers
really knew about baseball was
that it meant tossing a ball back
and forth on the front lawn. This
might be baseball at it’s purest,
but that isn’t what was on display
during the World Series – which is
baseball at it’s ultimate finest.
I decided these kids needed to
take a course called “Baseball 101”
before their second World Series
in a year and it was my duty, as a
70-year-old retired sportswriter, to
author it for them. Since all three
are able to read and write now
they should be able to comprehend
so long as I don’t get into too much
ubiquitous serendipity (two of my
favourites) and other big words.
Thus was born the idea of a kiddie book about baseball, a work in
progress.

Rounders had a bat, ball, four
bases run counter-clockwise and
nine players on each team – but
no pitcher and catcher like cricket. When they combined the two
games into one, baseball was born,
although nobody seems to know
exactly when and where that happened. A good guess is a schoolyard
at recess.
We do know factually teams
and leagues were quite common by
1850, the first purely professional
team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 and the first World Series was played in 1903.
Chapter 2: Numbers
At it’s core, baseball is a game
of numbers and the two most important numbers are nine and
three.
Nine
There are nine players on the
field at all times on a baseball
team and they play nine innings
against another team with nine
players. Without the number “9”,
baseball games would be athletic
chaos… like hockey.

Three
This is the second most important number in baseball because a
batter gets three swings at pitches
over the home plate and if he or
she misses the ball all three times,
the umpire bellows “YER OUT!”
and you have to go back and sit
on the bench until your next try at
getting a hit. Remember, there is
no crying in baseball.
And each team gets three outs
before you change places with the
other team and have to go out in
the field so they can come in and
take their turn trying to get hits
and runs.
Without three strikes and three
outs, a baseball game might go
on forever… like Rounders and
Cricket, baseball’s grandparents.
People got tired of missing meals
and not sleeping at night during
a cricket match, so they invented
three strikes and three outs to
speed things up and get everybody
home in time for supper.
Four
This is another important number because if a pitcher throws
four balls NOT over home plate before three strikes, the batter gets
a free pass to first base which is
called a “walk,” although nobody
actually walks down to first. Usually they trot so it probably should
be called a “trot.” But it isn’t.
It is what it is, which long ago
caused a popular saying in baseball: “A walk is as good as a hit,”
which is true because, either way
you wind up on first base, which is
the whole point of the exercise.
Speaking of which:
1-2-3-Home
These numbers refer to the
bases a player has to cross to score
a run although they are called:
“first, second, third and home.”
It is a really good thing to score a
run for your team, because everybody totally likes you for a while
and pats you on the back or attacks
you with high fives and other silly
expressions of enthusiasm. The
team that scores the most runs, of
course, wins the game.
Dogue Sack is a retired writing
junkie who can’t seem to
kick the habit. He lives in
Whitehorse.
This is the first of a four part
series about “Baseball 101” as
taught by Yukoner and former
sportswriter Dogue Sack to his
young grandchildren.

Shake Out Those Memories and Shine ’em Up
U
ntil fairly recently, I had
no interest whatever in
the idea of writing a book
of memoirs. Like most people, I
assumed nobody would care to
read about the life journey of a
nobody-in-particular.
After all, autobiography is
the purview of politicians, movie
stars, generals and other colourful
scoundrels. If I ever had the hubris
to write an autobiography, I rea-

soned, it would probably be called
something like, “My Little Life and
Other Lies”.
But I’m a storyteller by trade,
and storytelling relies heavily on
the ability to access memories, to
turn, twist, interpret and shape
them.
I’m also a Geezer, officially
in my 75th year by the time this
column sees print. Lord knows,
one characteristic of Geezerhood

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is a propensity to live
in the past, and blab
about it ad nauseam.
Strange, isn’t it,
that the world’s most
prolific
storytellers
tend to be either the
very young or the very
old?
Youngsters tell stories because their imaginations are not yet
corrupted by a world
that seems to value
conformity more than
creativity. Yarn-spinning is a child’s way
to capture and make
sense of the elusive
thing called reality.
Oldsters spin yarns
for a similar reason:
they help retrofit reality with a personal
meaning that often
gets lost during the
years of scrabbling for
a living, raising children, and trying to meet the expectations of
whatever society we inhabit.
One of the delicious things
about memory is that it is totally
subjective.
How you recall that day a skunk
perfumed the family dog may be
completely different from how
your kid sister, Ruby, remembers
it. The hero in your memory of an
event may be the villain, or a mere

Shelley MacDonald
jewellery

PHOTO: Pixabay

One of the delicious things about memory
is that it is totally subjective.

bystander, in someone else’s.
vourite writing mentor, the late
Unlike the academic telling of William Zinsser.
history, memoir-writing doesn’t
First, use all your senses and
depend for its validity on a foun- any other trick that helps tap into
dation of documented fact. Much your treasure-chest of memory.
of the twaddle I write in this par- Second, tell your own truth; if
ticular space
Ruby has a difis
nothing
ferent take on
more or less
things, she can
than memwrite her own
oir, with no
damned memStrange, isn’t it,
guarantee of
oirs.
accuracy.
Finally, think
that the world’s
A
few
small.
Fordays
from
get
about
trymost prolific
now, I’ll be
ing to write a
storytellers tend to
conducting
magnum opus.
a workshop
Focus on probe either the very
on memoirducing honest,
writing in a
well-polished
young or the very
small
city
pearls, one at
east of Geea time. Before
old?
zerville.
I
you know it,
intend to ofyou’ll have a
fer the parhefty string-full
ticipants the
as your personal
same advice
gift to future
I would give anyone contemplat- generations.
ing a plunge into this art form.
You can contact our
It’s drawn from a splendid esresident Geezer via Editor@
say on memoir-writing by my fawhatsupyukon.com.

May 17, 2017

9

whatsupyukon.com

Join us for another great summer
of performing and visual arts, starting MAY 23!

THEY’RE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE
I HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST ORGANIC
DIET.
I HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST AND
LIGHTEST EQUIPMENT.
I HAVE TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ON
TRAINING METHODS.
I HAVE TO HAVE A COACH.
I HAVE TO HAVE A SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST.
I HAVE TO HAVE TIME AND BE COMMITTED.
I HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST TRAINING
ENVIRONMENT.
I HAVE TO HAVE A MASSEUSE.
I HAVE TO HAVE COMPETITION IN
TRAINING.

I HAVE TO HAVE TRAVEL.
I CAN’T SMOKE, DRINK OR EAT JUNK
FOOD.
I CAN’T BE LAZY.
I HAVE TO DO ELEVATION TRAINING.
I HAVE TO BE A GOOD SPORTSMAN.
I HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT PHYSIQUE.
I HAVE TO BE A HUSTLER.
I HAVE TO BE ADAPTABLE.
I HAVE TO HAVE WILL POWER.
I HAVE TO HAVE DREAMS.
I HAVE TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF.
I HAVE TO RESPECT MYSELF.
I HAVE TO SPEND MONEY.
MOST OF ALL I HAVE TO HAVE GOD.

PHOTO: J. Simon

A cautionary tale: Fairbanks, Alaska resident Jeff
Oatley found himself in hot water last year with
immigration officials as he rode his bike off-road from
Fairbanks to Whitehorse along the Yukon Quest trail.

ALLAN BENJAMIN

Allan Benjamin, Old Crow, Yukon

SHOW US

Your Colours

COLOURFUL
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Exclusively available at
205A Main Street 668-3157 or order by email rambleswhitehorse@gmail.com

May 17, 2017

whatsupyukon.com

"She's wasted.
I'm gonna get
lucky tonight."

"She's wasted.
We're not gonna
hook up tonight."

Someone who is intoxicated cannot consent.
It's your responsibility to know where to draw the line.
Find out more at: endviolenceyukon.com
May is Sexualized Assault Prevention Month.

Son of a Trickster by Haisla Nation member Eden Robinson
illuminates empathy in unlikely heroes

“T

hink of magic as a tree.
The root of supernatural ability is simply the
realization that all time exists
simultaneously. Humans experience time as a progression of sequential events in much the same
way we see the horizon as flat:
our reality is shaped by our limitations.”
--excerpt from Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Rumbling with dark humour,
real life and bewitching characters, Eden Robinson’s latest
novel, Son of a Trickster, is a confident coming-of-age story with
a beautifully rhythmic cadence.
Set in Kitimat, British Columbia,
which is the town adjacent to the
Haisla Nation territory where she
grew up, Robinson explores the
physical and metaphysical, and
inner and outer realms of Jared,
“the burnout kid in highschool
who sells weed cookies.”
Jared lives a recognizably hard
life. At 16 he’s financially and
emotionally supporting family
members. He drinks and swears
with the learned nature of someone who has grown into those habits and he’s not always sure where
he’ll wake up. The turbulence is
palpable.
“The world is hard. You have to
be harder,” Jared’s forceful mother repeats to him throughout the
novel. So Jared shoulders his responsibilities and his reckless activities with the same unruffled,
at times pragmatic, and generally
well-seasoned attitude. He errs on
the side of unemotional (except
for his dead dog, Baby Killer), and
people react by calling him “a
dick” to his face.

PHOTO: Amazon.ca

Witty and dark, Robinson has written an exceptionally
lively novel. It’s unconventional for a “coming-ofage story” and carries some disturbingly honest
observations about growing up in grim conditions.
Then, without dropping a beat,
Robinson introduces Wee’git, the
trickster — who takes different
shapes and forms in many indigenous stories, in this one: a transforming raven.
Initially, Jared refuses to acknowledge Wee’git’s existence.
He evades explaining or explor-

ing why ravens are talking to him,
why his dreams seem to fade into
real life, why he can hear Baby
Killer barking in the forest, or why
he sees an old woman’s face shift
shape. Jared wants to remain ignorant, so the reader also remains
in the dark. But at some point his
denial is overwhelmed and, as his

Vanessa Ratjen is a reader and
a writer. She’s done both in
Nova Scotia, the Yukon, and on
Vancouver Island, where she
currently resides in a yurt.

perspective changes, we’re right
alongside him to watch it happen.
“Everyone knows a kid like
Jared…” says the synopsis of the
book, but part of the novel’s
magic is that it seems to have a
bit of that trickster personality
in itself. Maybe we do know a kid
like Jared, but we don’t really
know Jared. Under his rough exterior, Jared is an exceptional human, and if even he doesn’t know
it yet.
The world is hard and Jared has
many lessons to learn, however,
they won’t all come to fruition in
this book.
Published by Penguin Random
House Canada in February this
year, Son of a Trickster is the first
novel in her trickster trilogy.
Witty and dark, Robinson has
written an exceptionally lively
novel. It’s unconventional for a
“coming-of-age story” and carries
some disturbingly honest observations about growing up in grim
conditions. Robinson arrests these
by keeping a delightfully anecdotal and irreverent tone. Keep an
eye out for this wonderfully magnetic book and its future counterparts; like trickster, they’re sure
to break all the rules.
Son of a Trickster by Eden
Robinson is available through the
Yukon Public Library system. To
borrow a copy, go to the Whitehorse Public Library, call them,
or make a request online through
www.YPL.gov.yk.ca.

lthough I can’t absolutely
verify the factual accuracy
of the following “claim to
fame,” if I’m not the only person
who had the unique opportunity
to caddy for Jack Nicklaus both
before he won his first professional major (1962 U.S. Open) and
after his last (1986 Masters), I’m
certainly one of the very few fortunate enough to do so. And, although I’ll be 70 years old on my
next birthday, I recall both (with
the help of some very old notes)
as if they happened yesterday.
Here is how both transpired:
THE FIRST
I was 14 years old on the weekend of Sept. 23-24, 1961 in Pleasant Ridge, an old suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was born and
raised and near where my ancestors had lived since 1853.
I started caddying at Losantiville CC at the age of 8-10, as soon
as I was big enough to lug clubs
around 18 hilly holes, because it
was a better option than the other
jobs available for a kid to pick up
some spending money and I had
tried them all: mowing lawns,
washing cars, bagging groceries,
setting pins and delivering newspapers. Caddying was like a paid
walk in the park compared to the
others and the money was better,
$1.25 for nine holes or $2.75 for
18, no tips permitted.

On a good weekend you could
get two loops of doubles, which
came to $11, and all your money
problems for the following week
were solved since Dad’s $5 a week
allowance was mandated by parental authority to be used solely
for weekday lunches at school.
Losantiville was a private country club and 95 per cent of the
golfers were hopeless hackers –
except for one foursome of single
digits: Milt Schloss, Bernie Dave,
Louie Gutmann and Dick Marcus –
and it’s amazing I still recall their
names.
If you didn’t get one of the “Big
Four” you knew it was going to be
a hackarama and the best you
could hope for was a lady golfer
wearing a black bra under a white
golf shirt.
However, every September,
near the autumn equinox, the club
hosted a small Pro-Am, which was
big enough and good enough to attract PGA pros and their amateur
partners for a two-day 36 holer,
which we caddies anticipated
every season as our only chance to
make big money before the course
closed for the winter.
All the caddies had numbers,
based on their attendance the
previous season and got to select
the players they wanted, starting,
of course, with #1.
There were about 30 pros en-

tered, and my number that season
was 33, which meant I would wind
up with an amateur and be lucky
to make $10 for the weekend.
Sure enough, all the pros were
taken when #33 was called so I
logically selected the best available amateur in the field, Jack
Nicklaus from just up the road
aways in Columbus, Ohio and the
current star of the Ohio State golf
team.
Nicklaus was also the reigning
U.S. Amateur Champion at the
time and a bit of a young hero
in Ohio. Everybody pretty much
knew he would eventually become
a good PGA pro someday, but I
doubt if anybody expected him to
become the greatest golfer of all
time.
From my myopic point of view,
I was sorely disappointed to be
stuck with an amateur since the
pros were well known to pay as
much as $25 to a caddy if they
scored well and you did a good
job for them. There weren’t any
stories around the caddyshack of
anybody copping a good payday
from an amateur, even if he was
the best amateur in the country.
But a funny thing happened on
Sept. 23, 1961. At the end of the
first day, we were winning and I
was thinking about getting excited, except somebody came up to
Jack when he putted out on 18,

Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), aka The Golden
Bear, is a retired American golfer. He is widely considered
to be the greatest golfer in history to this day.
whispered in his ear and he took
off like a comet heading back to
Columbus. His wife, Barbara, had
just given birth to their first child,
or perhaps had gone into labour,
and I went home that evening
feeling like I was a jockey who
rode his horse to first place at the
halfway point then watched as he
threw me onto the ground and
skedaddled back to the barn.
To this day I don’t know if Jack
got any sleep that night, but he
was back in Cincy for our Sunday
tee time and continued his prodigious pulverization of Losantiville.
This time as the proud father of
his first of five. And my chances of

 and counting

making $25 for the weekend were
looking better, too, because he
was doing things to my golf course
I didn’t know were possible.
Dogue Sack is a retired writing
junkie who can’t seem to
kick the habit. He lives in
Whitehorse.
This is the first in a four part
series by Doug Sack about his
experience as a caddy for Jack
Nicklaus both before the golfer
won his first professional major
(1962 U.S. Open) and after his
last (1986 Masters).



 Printed Pages

 Magazine Covers created

 Writers since First Issue

 Copies distributed since 2005

 Yukon Stories told

oF llow us...

 Events listed

WHATSUPYUKON.COM

14

whatsupyukon.com

May 17, 2017

Alphabet Soup
with Els Lundgaard

e needed to find a place to
The prices, the delicious-looking
go for lunch that started dishes and the speed of the service
with the letter “N”. Well, drew us back to it. The waitress nodwe needed look no further than the ded her approval. She met us out front
North Dragon Restaurant. We were at the display table and explained the
able to park right outside and go in to choices and ingredients enthusiasticcheck out their display.
ally.
The staff greeted us with smiles
My companion pointed to the chow
and friendly hellos. They pointed out mein, the vegetables and a spring roll.
the choices: wonton dumplings, deep I chose the vegetables, a spring roll
fried ginger beef, ginger pork, chow and, just to be different, the chicken
mein, chicken fried rice, sweet and fried rice. We carried the very full
sour chicken, boneless pork, vege- plates to our table in the back room.
tables, deep fried chicken, and, of
Even though we were in the back,
course, spring rolls. It
the clean windows let
all looked so delicious.
in enough of the sunThe board on the
shine and light from
The staff and various
wall behind the display
outside that we had
listed the prices for one
no trouble admiring
family members
dish, two dishes or the
our choices before we
three dish lunch spepicked up our forks
settled in at a table
cial. We looked around
and dove in. Delicious
near us and there
and saw that the porand very filling.
tions were generous
We decided to go
was much chatter
and the rates, ranging
with the theme and
between $14 and $23
we both had green
and laughter.
are affordable.
tea. A large teapot
What decided to sit
was delivered and set
in the back dining room
down between the
and take a look at what else is avail- two of us. We ate leisurely, respecting
able on the menu.
the food. And had great fun catching
A very friendly young woman hur- up on the latest news.
ried to our table with menus and left
The staff and various family memus to look it over. The descriptions bers settled in at a table near us and
were detailed and the prices, again, there was much chatter and laughter.
were excellent. There are many dishWe had more tea and read each
es suitable for vegetarian diets and other’s fortunes, enjoying the rethere is a whole section of spicier sulting broken cookies, as well. It
Cantonese dishes.
wasn’t until we were slowly collecting

our things and preparing to leave,
that I realized that, other than the
staff, we were the only ones left in
the restaurant. As we
thanked the owners
and family for the delightful experience and
received smiles, nods
and return invitations,
I glanced at the restaurant hours and realized
we had overstayed by
more than a half hour.
But we’d had no indication from the staff and
friendly family. What
great service!
The North Dragon Restaurant is
located at 2058 Second Avenue. It is
open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 10:30
p.m. On Saturday and Sunday they are
open from 4 p.m. to 10:30 pm. You
can dine in or take out. And, if you’re
so inclined, you can have service in
Cantonese or Mandarin,
as well as English.
Els Lundgaard is a
Whitehorse-based
writer and food lover.
Questions or comments
about her articles can
be sent to editor@
whatsupyukon.com.
She is trying out
restaurants around
town according to the
order of the alphabet.

PHOTO: Els Lundgaard

North Dragon Restaurant
W

The North
Dragon
Restaurant is
located at 2058
Second Avenue.

11:3o am-7 pm MON-SAT
11:3o am-4 pm SUN

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May 17, 2017

15

whatsupyukon.com

Edible Yukon

5 Things to do
with Old Seeds

with Kim Melton

Sowing the Seeds of Spring

How to scratch the spring itch for planting before the snow is gone

T

he light returns to the Yukon
long before the heat and
we’re still in the prime season of huge oscillations in temperature between day and night.
Mornings dawn crisp – but early –
and as of yet we feel no compulsion to head outside until it warms
a little. Midafternoon brings mud
and even t-shirt weather and long
evenings have us out working in
the yard until good gracious it’s
after nine and I should probably
make supper.
In the Klondike our thawing

versity as I peer in closer. This one
has a truncated first true leaf, that
a knobbly bit of stem just above
the seed leaves. They show a collective curve towards one side of
the tray in evidence of their orientation towards the sun yesterday,
a tropism that can be reversed or
accentuated today depending on
how they are placed.
As I was sorting seeds in my
early-March enthusiasm for the
onset of spring I set aside many
of the ancient packets that have
been replaced with newer ones in
a bin of “early
greens.”
Instead of keeping them another year and
wondering
if
they yet have
life in them,
I’ve sown them
en masse in
large,
open
flats to provide
our first salads.
First
the
seeds that like
to be below
the
surface,
then a sprinkling of fine soil
and finally the
lettuce
and
other
lightloving seeds.
Anything that
doesn’t
gerPHOTO: Kim Melton
minate will be
Seedlings of any kind inspire awe that
overwhelmed
by what does,
life starts from such tiny packets.
and I will have
a cleaner slate for next year’s
ground is still a ways from yielding seed orders.
anything green and growing, howI listened to a CBC podcast on
ever, so as the light wakes us from seed banks recently that reminded
our dormant winter state and gets me both of the great lengths of
our noses sniffing about for some- time that seeds can remain vithing fresh to eat, I start sowing able, and also of the importance
flats of greens to get us off to a of “living” or “revolving” banks
good start.
when it comes to this kind of live
Seeds never cease to amaze material – instead of being stored
me. I’ve been watching our to- for perpetuity seeds take kindly
mato seedlings with awe, not to being grown out and saved
to mention eggplants, peppers, again, a practice which has been
basil, celery and a host of flowers carried out on this continent by
that fill the greenhouse shelves.
First Nations for an awfully long
That those tiny capsules of time, more recently by European
genetic material and a little hit of settlers bringing with them seeds
nutrition contain the raw materi- from the Old Country, then by the
als for the leafy creatures that are back-to-the-landers in the ’60s
quickly outgrowing their contain- and ’70s, who we have to thank
ers blows me away.
for many of our seed exchanges.
I look over a flat of plants oriMost recently the trend towards
ginating from seeds I smeared appreciating local has inspired
across a piece of paper last fall a new wave of seed savers who
and note that the uniformity seen exchange seeds and learn techfrom a distance dissolves into di- niques that are as old as agricul-

Hockey Lives Here

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411 Main Street, Whitehorse, 668-4500

ture, growing in vertical gardens
in apartments and community-run
plots in urban centers as often as
on rural farms and acreages.
Soon enough we will be getting our first crops in the gardens
outside, but until then these little
trays of greens will get a weekly
haircut to provide us with our first
hit of comestible spring. Happy
planting!

Kim Melton
is an
enthusiastic
forager and
gardener,
inspired by
all things that
make up good,

1. 1) Run a germination test by placing 10
seeds in a damp paper towel, pack into a
Ziploc bag, and set in a warm place.
2. 2) Donate them to a seed library, like the
one at Energy, Mines and Resources.
3. 3) Participate in a local seedy Saturday/
Sunday.
4. 4) Start your own seed exchange with
friends and neighbours.
5. 5) Make a literal mixed bag and sow thickly
for your first salad of spring.
6. 6) When all else fails, make art!

An Evolution of Music and Friendship
Longtime Yukon musicians and friends Andrea McColeman and
Lucie Desaulniers look back on their years of shared musical history

by Aislinn Cornett

I

t was 30 years ago, but Andrea
McColeman still remembers
what Lucie Desaulniers was
wearing the first time they got
together to jam: neon leggings
and a fitness headband (à la Olivia
Newton John) propping up her
permed ‘do.
All Desaulniers recalls about
their ’90s musical inauguration,
was that she was was incredibly
nervous. Desaulniers may have had
the jitters, but it wasn’t apparent
to anybody else in that room.
“I remember the first time I
heard Lucie sing,” McColeman says.
“Our mouths dropped open and we
went, wow, can she sing! We hadn’t
been around anyone who could sing
like that.”
For Desaulniers, the musical attraction was mutual.
“Once I heard Andrea play, I
knew I was in good hands.”
Fast forward to today, and these
well-established, seasoned Yukon
musicians are still making music
together. It seems not much has
changed over the years, though
Desaulniers’ hair is noticeably
straighter.
Desaulniers grew up in a musical
and performing arts family in Manitoba, so playing music is a tradition she naturally carried on. She
says she was always shy, but music
helped bring her out of her shell.
As a child, she sang in trios and
choirs with her rhythmic relatives,
and started crooning to bar crowds
when she was 14.
“It was in my blood,” Desaulniers says. She went on to study
voice, piano and guitar at The Royal
Conservatory in Toronto, but was
deterred from playing instruments
by a punitive professor’s unorthodox approach to teaching.
“She would hit my fingers with
sticks and stuff, so I learned to hate
playing instruments,” Desaulniers
says with a laugh. “But I continued
on with voice.”
This soulful songstress’ path lead
her north in 1985 to Faro and shortly
after, she landed her first gig as the
lead in the musical Fiddler on the
Roof. She sang in the well-known

vaudeville show The Frantic Follies
for two seasons and later started a
country band with conductor, musician and friend, Rachel Grantham.
It was Desaulniers’ thirst to hit
the festival circuit that lead her to
put a band call-out advertisement
in the local paper, which is how she
came to meet McColeman.
Born in a small town in northern
Ontario, McColeman’s musical path
looked a little different. She had
no musical influence in her family
except for her grandmother, who
McColeman describes as a brilliant
piano player.
“She couldn’t read music, but
she could play all the songs of the
day,” McColeman says. “She was a

Humber College in Toronto to study
jazz piano. She moved to the Yukon
in 1990, and, like Desaulniers, got
her big northern break through the
thriving Whitehorse theatre scene
after she was asked to play music
for a play.
“Thank you Whitehorse theatre
scene!” McColeman and Desaulniers
unanimously praise.
After their serendipitous first
jam, the pair played together for
one year in Mélange, an 11-piece
jazz fusion band. The duo also
played weekly at the old Loose
Moose café, which is now the
Legends Smokehouse and Grill.
Their music took a new twist
when McColeman bought an ac-

PHOTO: Christian Kuntz

Lucie D and the Immortals are Paul Lucas, left, Olivier de Colombel, Lucie
Desaulniers, Lonnie Powell, Andrea McColeman and Paul Bergman.
bit of a… savant that way. Maybe I
got the bug from her.”
Like Desaulniers, McColeman
says she was quite shy, but after her
dad sent her off to summer music
school in Grade 6, all she wanted
to do was make bands. She learned
how to play drums in high school,
and then went on to complete a
Bachelor of Music in percussion performance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo.
“All I wanted to do was to play
in a cover band in crappy, northern
Ontario bars,” says McColeman,
laughing at her lofty, youthful goals.
As it turns out, McColeman
skipped the grungy bar scene, and
ended up playing in a symphony orchestra instead. She later went to

cordion from a consignment shop.
McColeman was intrigued by the
antique squeezebox she had acquired, and wondered what type of
music she might play with it. Her
aha moment came while listening
to cajun and zydeco world music
cassettes. She shared her inspiration with Desaulniers, and this style
of French rhythm and blues became
the driving force behind their band,
Inconnu.
The five piece bilingual band
featured Desaulniers as lead singersongwriter and McColeman as accordion player and percussionist.
The band has recorded two albums
and played the Canadian summer
festival circuit for more than 10
years from 1990 to 2001. Their first

Us n What It Means
d
n
e
S oem o
P TO BE CANADIAN
Your
Entry Deadline

June 12, 2017 by Noon

hit single,
“Jigi Dou,”
featured
Desauln i e r s ’
songwriting.
PHOTO: courtesy of Lucie Desaulniers
F r o m
The bilingual folk/rock/pop group Inconnu were in their heyday
2001
to
2011, the
during 1990s. They are Len Osland, left, Andrea McColeman,
dynamic
Nick De Graff, Jay Burr and Lucie Desaulniers.
duo went
separate
will also be putting on a songwritways, with
Desaulniers moving across country ing retreat at a cabin on Tagish Lake
to study counselling in New Bruns- from May 15th to 22nd, where they
wick, and McColeman starting a will write their own material and
hopefully, record a CD afterwards.
family here in the Yukon.
Despite their busy lives and the
“Lucie always has a project, a
many miles between them, both vision and a plan. It’s something I’m
women continued their musical jealous of,” McColeman says.
development, especially in the
“I can say that I always trust that
jazz genre. Desaulniers facilitated Andrea is going to be there and that
a vocal meditation group, played she is going to second guess what
weekly gigs with fellow jazz musi- I’m about to do,” Desaulniers says.
cians and played jazz regularly at a “She is the most attentive side perbeach resort in Moncton.
son that I have ever met and I won’t
McColeman credits her jazz ad- play with anybody else. We have
vancement to Jazz Yukon and in- our differences, but I always know
dividuals like saxophonist Duncan that she is there. That helps me do
Sinclair.
what I need to do, in confidence.”
“We have amazing opportunities
“We’ve both become better
to learn through masters with Jazz musicians and our repertoire is
Yukon,” McColeman says. “We are
huge now!” McColeman says. “It’s a
so lucky.”
thick binder, so if you want to hire
Fast forward six years, and these
us, we’re good for just about anylongtime friends and musicians are
thing you can imagine.”
now back it again. Though the pair
When asked what the future
are busy personally and musically –
holds for their musical partnership,
Desaulniers is a family and marriage
the pair laugh.
counsellor and McColeman is a pri“We’ll be in the old folks’ home
vate teacher and elementary school
playing
music together,” McColemusic teacher – they always make
man
says
with a laugh.
time for their craft.
“You
don’t
stop playing music,
McColeman and Desaulniers peryou
hopefully
just
get better the
form as a duo playing mostly covers, and their most recent endeav- older you get,” Desaulniers says. “If
our, as of 2016, is an R&B and bossa there are good musicians around,
nova band called Lucie D and the it’s not something you give up.” For
Immortals, alongside fellow musi- more information about upcoming
cians Paul Lucas, Lonnie Powell, events you can contact Lucie D and
Paul Bergman and Olivier de Co- the Immortals through their Facebook page.
lombel.
Aislinn Cornett is a freelance
The fusion band have a few sumwriter, artist and art therapist
mer shows lined up. will be playfrom Whitehorse, Yukon. She is
ing a house concert for 85 people
currently writing and living on the
on June 10th, as well as shows in
Haines Junction this summer. They
beach in Mexico.

ADULT CATEGORY

TEEN CATEGORY: GRADES 8-12

First Prize

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HUDSON BAY PASS

REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE

For the Winner plus one to travel
YXY YOW

* Celebrate with a $100 Wheelhouse
Restaurant Gift Certificate
FIRST PLACE
WINNERS
Receive a Letter from
Prime Minister
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and from
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Sandy Silver

* Parliament Tour with MP Larry Bagnell

Second Prize
HOME HARDWARE ROOM MAKEOVER
$350 Price Value
200 lineal feet of trim (20x20 Room)
2 gallons of paint
A new light fixture (Options up to $75 Value)
A piece of artwork (Options up to $100 Value)

All Submissions must be received by noon on June 12, 2017. Submit your entries by email to contest@whatsupyukon.com
For rules, prize details, conditions and judging criteria go to WHATSUPYUKON.COM

May 17, 2017

17

whatsupyukon.com

A Klondike Korner
with Dan Davidson

The Rush is On

The 31st Dawson City International Gold
Show takes place May 19, 20

E

arly in May, with the deadlines for the 2017 edition of
the Dawson City International
Gold Show approaching, Coralee
Rudachyk was busy, but calm. As
the General Manager of the Dawson
City Chamber of Commerce, she
has the primary responsibility for
making sure everything works out
according to plan.
The plan is a pretty solid one,
having evolved over the last 31
years, and being able to draw on a
couple of decades worth of experience from Mark Mather, owner of
the Dawson City General Store, is
very helpful.

The Gold Show is an industry and
consumer trade show encompassing the diverse and interconnected
sectors of the regional economy,
with mining at its hub. Miners are
invited to chat, network, buy and
sell, in a relaxed and social atmosphere, which makes it a pleasure to
do business.
While the Klondike Placer Miners
Association holds its annual general
meeting in the fall, the Gold Show
weekend is always the time for its
spring meeting.
Parks Canada will hold a “Doors
Open” event during the weekend,
during which people will be encour-

Gold Show inside 1.jpg – Booths inside the arena
feature information and smaller technologies.
Exhibitors will be setting up
their displays on May 18 and by May
19 to 20 everything will be in place
and ready to open.
Begun in 1986, the Gold Show
celebrates Dawson’s gold rush heritage as well as contemporary mining
in the Klondike. It is the unofficial
beginning of the summer season, by
which time the ice has left the river
to make way for the George Black
Ferry, and the Top of the World
Highway has been opened to the
joint U.S./Canada border station.

aged to tour buildings that are usually closed to the public.
The Dawson City Museum will
have a lecture and book signing
with Michael Gates, promoting his
latest book From the Klondike to
Berlin: The Yukon in World War I.
The late Bill Bowie was one of
the founders of the show, and the
annual Bill Bowie Dinner and Auction will be held on Friday evening in the new event tent that the
chamber has purchased as a result
of the Palace Grand Theatre being

PHOTOS: Dan Davidson
out of service during its renovations
for the second year. This year the
local ladies will also be offering
their popular Boardwalk Burlesque
show at this event.
The new tent will also be the
venue for a children’s show on
Saturday morning with Will Stroet,
the star of Will’s Jams on Kids’
CBC television, who is billed as an
award-winning bilingual children’s
musician and educator from Vancouver, B.C.
The trade show is continuing last
year’s practice of extending the location of the outdoor booths along
Fourth Ave and out on Queen Street
from the Masonic Lodge to Fifth Avenue. There are 27 outdoor booths
and all had been rented by May 2.
The outdoor booths feature
larger mining equipment and vehicles, as well as the ever-popular
selection of bedding plants, potted
plants and hanging baskets that
cause Dawson’s homes and businesses to leap into bloom the very
next week.
The 65 indoor booths in the Art
and Margaret Fry Recreation Centre had been selling steadily at the
time of this interview, with 70 per

The Gold Show outdoor venues are for larger mining equipment.
cent of them taken.
Indoor booths feature information displays by a lot of government
agencies and nonprofit groups, as
well as information technology
booths and smaller mining related
equipment.
The venues are open to the
public from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
on both Friday and Saturday, with
other events happening at other
times during the two days.
Both exhibitors and visitors are
cautioned that the arena is unheat-

ed and can be chilly in the mornings, but that really doesn’t seem
to keep people away. For more information you can visit the Dawson
City Chamber of Commerce website
or email office@dawsoncitychamberofcommer.ca
Dan Davidson retired from 32
years of teaching in rural Yukon
schools, but continues writing
about life in Dawson City. Please
send comments about his stories
to dawson@whatsupyukon.com.

House plant sales are very popular at the Gold Show in Dawson City.

The next deadline for
Arts Fund is:

June 15, 2017

Arts Fund supports group projects
in literary, visual and performing arts that
foster creative development and engage
public participation.

There are four deadlines per year:
15th March, June, September and December.
Application form and guidelines are available
on our website.
Applicants are encouraged to consult an Arts Advisor
before applying.

Performers. Storytellers.
Promoters.
There is a community of people just like you at
MacEwan University – an active community
passionate about the arts, engaged in research
and innovators in their ﬁelds.
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications
has seven unique programs in the ﬁelds of ﬁne
art, design, music, theatre, arts management
and communications.
Don’t stop doing what you love. It’s about to
take you places.
Apply now and explore your creativity in our
new Centre for Arts and Culture – opening
September 2017.

Thunder and Lightning
After a few minutes the clouds became darker and lightning was visible in the distance, but not far away.

T

hunder and lightning do not many people in various activities.
seem to be as common here Last summer I was on a lake fishing
in the Yukon as in southern from my boat and accompanied by
Canada. However, lightning strikes another boat. It clouded over – alare probably the most common though no obvious thunderheads
cause of our forest fires.
were nearby – and it started to
Lightning is a gigantic spark
rain. Gently at first, then more
jumping between a charged cloud
heavily. After a few minutes the
and the earth, but what actually
clouds became darker and lightcauses lightning was visning is still an
ible in the disitem of detance, but not
bate.
far away.
Between
To me, disLightning is a
2006 and 2013,
cretion is the
26
anglers
gigantic spark
better
part
were
struck
of valor so
jumping between
and killed by
I started to
lightning
in
head to the
a charged cloud
the
U.S.A.
boat
launch
Anglers
still
and the earth,
as quickly as
hold the top
my boat could
but what actually
position as far
get us out of
as deaths by
causes lightning
there.
The
lightning. Just
other
boat
did
is still an item of
realize
you
likewise – or
are standing
debate.
at least that
there with a 7'
was what I
to 10' graphite
thought until
lightening rod
he
stopped
in your hand.
where
the
Consider that
river went out of the lake and he
you, in a boat, with your rod, are
started to slowly troll back tothe tallest point out on that body
wards the boat launch.
of water.
I thought that was pretty careAs a result you will be the
less behaviour, but I was not going
logical target if lightning happens
to make myself more of a target
in the area. A person struck by
for lightning by stopping and suglightning is often killed instantly,
gesting he get back to the boat
but severe burns are also comlaunch.
mon. It is a rare situation where
The power and sight of a real
the lightning bolt that struck a
thunder and lightning storm is
person is a bolt out of the blue –
certainly one of nature’s greatest
where it is the only sign of lightvisual treats, but we need to rening in the area.
spect nature’s sometimes deadly
The lightning strike on a person
power.
or boat has usually been preceded
by other lightning in the area,
Murray Martin is a
but the victim was too slow about
former Ontario Conservation
leaving the area or worse was conOfficer and a long standing
vinced that it couldn’t happen to
member of The Outdoor Writers
them.
of Canada. Questions about his
The can’t-happen-to-me synstories can be sent to
drome has lead to the deaths of
editor@whatsupyukon.com

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June 1 – June 30, 2017
We are looking for volunteers to help celebrate
traditional watercraft of Canada’s North,
a Canada 150 project.
ONLINE REGISTRATION
FORMS AVAILABLE AT:
For volunteer incentives
visit our website.

FRIDAY NIGHT
Shipyards Park 4-8 PM
Pre-registration, Music, Food & Entertainment
SATURDAY:
Shipyards Park 9-11 AM
Registration and free breakfast by Antoinette's
Shipyards Park 11:00-11:30 AM
From Shipyards Park we'll parade through downtown
to the Miles Canyon Lookout
Head out on the Highway 11:30 AM-4 PM
Ride the highways and pick up you prize run tickets
Shipyards Park 4-6 PM
Dinner, prizes and awards.
You'll be on your way home by 6 PM, all while helping to raise
money to fight prostate cancer in our local community!
You could WIN this Honda Rebel valued at $4,799
Register to ride for the 1st time, you get a chance to win!
Get a friend to register for the 1st time, you get a chance to win!
For every $100 you raise, you get a chance to win!

Wed, May, 17, Lawrence Hill at Yukon Public
Libraries 12:00 PM Burwash Landing The
Illegal: Refugees in the Imagination and
in the Real World, author Lawrence Hill
describes the research he is undertaking this
year and in 2018, and welcomes all research
tips.
Wed, May, 17, From Dublin to New York
City with Teresa Vander Meer-Chasse
5:00 PM Yukon Transportation Museum
A presentation on initiatives such as the
Laundromat Project and other communitybased/oriented initiatives. All are welcome,
particularly those in the arts and culture
sector.
Wed, May, 17, Chamber Choir Rehearsal
7:45 PM Vanier Catholic Secondary
Spring 2017 session for this auditioned
a capella choir for mixed voices, call, or
email to schedule an audition or for more
information. 667-7049
Wed, May, 17, Dreamers Often Lie 8:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Wed, May, 17, Indigenous Film Night 8:00
PM Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre A selection
of short films and the feature film, Empire
of Dirt.
Wed, May, 17, Hump Day Trivia 9:00 PM
Yukon Inn in the Boiler Room
Thu, May, 18, See the Spectrum Differently
Conference 9:00 AM Yukon Arts Centre The
conference will address a range of issues and
feature keynote speaker, Temple Grandin
and Aspie-Comic, Michael McCreary.
Thu, May, 18, Fireweed Community Market
Outdoor Market 3:00 PM Shipyards Park
Local produce, baked goods, live plants,
local meats, Yukon art, crafted treasures
and more
Thu, May, 18, Jump Into Spring Wellness
Workshop 6:00 PM Make IT Workspace
Learn how to naturally detoxify your body
for Spring using whole foods and lifestyle
strategies, as well as explore how to increase
your energy and curb cravings. Call 333-9662
or email contact@getdowntoearthwellness.
com for more information.
Thu, May, 18, Chess Corner 6:30 PM
Whitehorse Public Library Chess played
upstairs at the Library, beginners welcome,
welcome to bring your own ‘lucky’ board.
Everyone welcome to sit in on this game of
strategy.
Thu, May, 18, An Evening with Dr. Temple
Grandin 7:00 PM Yukon Arts Centre Call 6676406 for more information.
Thu, May, 18, Dreamers Often Lie 8:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Fri, May, 19, Beginner Guitar Whitehorse,
Yukon A 4-week course for beginners and
learn easy chords, simple scales & melodies.
Along with sight reading and tablature
reading, And the basics of fingerpicking! To
register or for more information email Krista
at: kristaaustad@gmail.com
Fri, May, 19, - 22, Work Bee 2017 Camp
Yukon Enjoy the weekend, and make a
contribution that could change a child’s life
forever.
Fri, May, 19, Dusk’a Friday Language
Lunches 12:00 PM Duska Head Start and
Family Learning Center Bring a bag lunch
and come learn Southern Tutchone with
our special guest speakers. Call Erin Pauls
for more information 633-7816. All Kwanlin
citizens and staff are welcome!
Fri, May, 19, Dreamers Often Lie 8:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Sat, May, 20, Ukes of Hazard Garage Sale
Fundraiser 9:00 AM Northland Trailer Park
A wild tour fundraiser garage sale.Featuring
lots of clothes, music gear, nick nacks and
more! there will be live music and food!
Bring your spare change. #139
Sat, May, 20, Dog Wash Fundraiser 10:00

AM The Feed Store Pet Junction All profit
goes to Mae Bachur Animal Shelter
Sat, May, 20, Crib Tournament 6:15 PM
Royal Canadian Legion - Branch 254 Crib
tournaments every Saturday - Member and
non-members welcome.
Sat, May, 20, Dreamers Often Lie 8:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Sun, May, 21, Find Your Call: Bringing the
Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action to
Life 12:00 PM Mount McIntyre Recreation
Centre Participants to translate the TRC’s
recommendations and Calls to Action into
meaningful action steps in the workplace
and the community.Register by May 21.
Email humanrights@yhrc.yk.ca for more
information.
Sun, May, 21, Whitehorse Scrabble Club
1:00 PM Best Western Gold Rush Inn Are
you a wordy person, put your words to the
test and join the Scrabble Club. Must be 19+
Sun, May, 21, Dreamers Often Lie 2:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Sun, May, 21, Ceramics Open Studio 2:30
PM Arts Underground Non-instructed open
studio. Participants are welcome to use
the studio’s tools and equipment; clay and
some tools are available for purchase. Every
Sunday except long weekends. $5/hour.
Sun, May, 21, 25th Birthday Party feat. Will
Stroet 3:00 PM Yukon Arts Centre Free, for
all ages party, A special concert by JUNOnominee Will Stroet from CBC Kids Wills
Jams. a free barbecue, games, music, arts
and crafts, and local band Soda Pony.
Sun, May, 21, Dreamers Often Lie 8:00 PM
Wood Street School A MADD production
of a tale of a young teenage girl who after
suffering from a dangerous skiing accident
faces from disturbing dreams which is hard
to distinguish on whether they are real or
not.
Mon, May, 22, Free drop-in computer
labs 10:00 AM Yukon Learn Free Drop-In
Computer Lab for Self Directed Studies A
tutor/Instructor will be available on site to
assist you. 867-668-6280 or toll free: 888668-6280 Fax: 867-633-4576
Mon, May, 22, GO The Surrounding Game
6:00 PM Starbucks Chilkoot Centre Simple
Game Deep Strategy. Beginners & Visitors
Welcome. For more information email:
tjbowlby@gmail.com
Mon, May, 22, Euchre Night 6:00 PM Royal
Canadian Legion - Branch 254 667-2802
Tue, May, 23, The Under Achievers 6:30
PM Arts Underground A club for painters of
all skill levels. Bring your own supplies, we
have easels and plenty of space. There is no
instruction. Cost is free with a membership.
Wed, May, 24, Painting Party! 10:00 AM
CPAWS Volunteer and help paint to the
CPAWS office. No painting experience is
necessary, and we’ll provide all the supplies
you’ll need. Lunch provided.
Wed, May, 24, Spanish Conversation Group
12:00 PM Yukon Government Administration
Building Join us inside the Bridges Café 6336081 Terry or Michèle
Wed, May, 24, Centennial Dinner 6:00 PM
MacBride Museum In celebration of 50
years of the W.D, 1967 Centennial Dinner
re-creation. Dress in 1960s attire.
Wed, May, 24, Lawrence Hill at Yukon
Public Libraries 7:30 PM Kwanlin Dun
Cultural Centre The Illegal: Refugees in the
Imagination and in the Real World, author
Lawrence Hill describes the research he
is undertaking this year and in 2018, and
welcomes all research tips.
Wed, May, 24, Chamber Choir Rehearsal
7:45 PM Vanier Catholic Secondary
Spring 2017 session for this auditioned
a capella choir for mixed voices, call, or
email to schedule an audition or for more
information. 667-7049
Wed, May, 24, Hump Day Trivia 9:00 PM
Yukon Inn in the Boiler Room

We would be pleased to
show you our meeting &
conference facilities
We would be happy to host you, we have…
98 comfortable rooms, kitchenettes & jacuzzi
suites, free high-speed internet, guest laundry,

Hello Everybody,
We invite you to
share your photos of
Yukon wildlife.
Email your high-resolution images with a
description of what’s
going on and what
camera equipment you
used to Editor@WhatsUpYukon.com

• You cut and you pick-up available
• Everything over 8” split
• Prices as low as $245 per cord
• Scheduled or next day delivery

We have more
than ﬁrewood,
we can supply
wood processing
equipment you need
like splitters and
chippers.

he Northern Goshawk
was spotted south of
Watson Lake on an old
logging road.
The murder of crows
was taken near the Yukon
River in Whitehorse.
The squirrel was taken
in Watson Lake near the
First Wye Lake.

Please email our editor:
editor@whatsupyukon.com

Call For
Reader
Submissions

Yukoners
Living With
Wildlife
Send us your
high resolution photos
with a description of
what’s happening in
the photo,
and the camera equipment
you used.
Editor@WhatsUpYukon.com

Sun, May, 21, Northern Backyard Garden Series
2017 1:00 PM Wheaton River Gardens Seven
half day workshops that will give you seasonal
experience and confidence to get growing. For more
info or to register please call 667-7083 or Email
lmca@northwestel.net

fter writing nearly ﬁfty books
of nonﬁction and ﬁction set
in the most exotic of locales,
America’s greatest travel writer is
ﬁnally headed for one of Alaska’s
most notorious: Skagway.
Paul Theroux will lead a faculty
of seven acclaimed authors at the
8th annual North Words Writers
Symposium May 31-June 3 in
historic Skagway, Alaska. An
inordinate percentage of Alaska
households (including seasonal
cabins) feature a well-worn copy
of Theroux on their shelves—travel
classics like The Great Railway
Bazaar and The Old Patagonia
Express, meaty ﬁction ala The
Mosquito Coast, or the cultural
satire of Blinding Light. The
places, people, and stories which
arise from Theroux’s considerable
literary talents deﬁne a territory in
American letters that belong wholly
to the master; we are honored that
he would consider extending his
borders to include North Words,
and encourage readers and writers
to join us for the celebration.
When Theroux lands in Skagway,
he will bring his latest published
work, Mother Land (Houghton
Mifﬂin, May 2017), “a richly
detailed, darkly hilarious novel”
about a narcissistic matriarch of a
Cape Cod family whose affections

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and quirks drive the saga of a
“vast family that bickers, colludes,
connives, and ultimately overcomes
the painful ties that bind them.”
A maximum of 50 registrants at the
2017 North Words Symposium will
also engage with a dazzling faculty
of Alaskan writers that includes
John Straley, Sherry Simpson, Deb
Vanasse, Tom Kizzia, Andy Hall,
and Lenora Bell.
Former Alaska writer laureate John
Straley is the celebrated author of
mystery, history, and poetry. His
tenth crime novel is called Baby’s
First Felony. Sherry Simpson’s ﬁrst
book, The Way Winter Comes,
has become an Alaska literary
staple; her most recent book is
Dominion of Bears: Living with
Wildlife in Alaska. Thirty-six years
in Alaska enriches the writing of
Deb Vanasse, author of seventeen
books, whose latest work Wealth
Woman: Kate Carmack and the
Klondike Race for Gold, is a deeply
researched biography of a Native
woman’s role in the discovering the
legendary gold of ’98.
Longtime Homer, Alaska journalist
Tom Kizzia’s latest book, Pilgrim’s
Wilderness: A True Story of Faith
and Madness inhabited the New
York Times bestseller list and
pegged #5 on Amazon’s Top Ten
Books of the Year” list.
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New Skechers styles for
men, women, and kids

Incredible people fuel the
symposium panel discussions, but
much of the unique spirit of North
Words derives from the wild world
beyond Skagway’s boardwalk.
Symposium participants will ride
the White Pass and Yukon Route
railroad 18 fabled miles up narrowgauge tracks to the Laughton
Glacier trailhead. Participants
choose a guided hike to the glacier
or a short walk to a rustic cabin
for a guided writing experience.
On another day, symposium
participants are shuttled to a cookout party at Alderworks Alaska
Writers & Artists Retreat near the
ghost-town of Dyea. Registration
also includes most meals, including
an opening reception and keynote
banquet.

OPEN EVERYDAY
5 th & Broadway · 907-983-2370

The North Words staff includes
bon vivant Buckwheat Donahue,
editor-writer Jeff Brady, publishermarketer Katrina Woolford, and
teacher-writer Daniel Lee Henry.
There is still time to register!
North Words is open to all writers,
aspiring or professional, who seek
inspiration, direction, a ﬂesh-andblood social network, and fun.
One or two credit hours may be
earned through University of Alaska
Southeast. Sign up soon, as more
than 30 were already registered by
early May.
See http://nwwriterss.com
North Words is a non-proﬁt event
supported by its ﬁscal sponsor,
Skagway Development Corporation
– Community Development
Services, with generous support
from the Municipality of Skagway
and other donors.

u Tour • Mendenhall Gl
les • Junea
acier
Wha

Fjord
Express
Juneau

To donate to the event, please visit
the Sponsor page on the website.
CONTACT:
northwordsinfo@gmail.com

4th and Spring St.
907-983-3663
You COULD fly to
Thailand. Or just
drive to Skagway.

(

great Thai food
and so much more!

www.starfirealaska.com

to

BEST MILKSHAKES IN
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WILDLIFE DAY CRUISE PACKAGE
FROM SKAGWAY OR HAINES $169

NEW
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HOME OF
in women’s
styles too!
Our Sale Loft is stocked up with plenty
of deals. Come shop the loft, where
there’s always a sale!

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skagwaybrewing.com

Longtime editor of Alaska
magazine, Andy Hall’s latest book
is Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest
Climbing Disaster on America’s
Wildest Peak, a nonﬁction
account of the tragic 1967 Wilcox
Expedition. Lenore Bell’s debut
historical romance novel How
the Duke was Won garnered the
coveted Golden Heart Award from
the Romance Writers of America.
Her third book in the Duke series
hits the stands about the time she
hits Broadway in Skagway.

by Els Lundgaard
I stopped by Second Show Kids
Consignment at 4200C 4th Ave.

I

t’s May. The time to springclean which, for me, means
emptying out my closets and
passing on the gently-worn-butno-longer-fitting clothes to someone else to love. Especially my
jeans, which have survived my
hopes of losing weight or growing taller or simply waking up one
day with a perfect body. The jeans
that are like new, but taking up
way too much room in my closet.
Out they go!
But where to? I was dismayed
to discover that the Sally Ann, aka
the Salvation Army Thrift Store,
that had been beside Tag’s on
Fourth Avenue for many years,
had closed in April.
I can’t really blame them when
it, supposedly, cost more to provide a venue for used clothing
than they brought in by selling
them. Such stores in southern cities have a buyer for apparel that

doesn’t sell, companies that recycle textiles into cleaning rags
or shred them for ultimate use in
insulation.
Can you see my jeans keeping a
brand new mansion warm?
Value Village stores in urban
areas are laid out like large department stores, with racks of
men’s, women’s and children’s
clothing arranged by size, category, and season. They have
paid staff who sort and cull
the donations, like the stuff my
mother brings to the Winnipeg
store.
Both Value Village and large
urban Sally Ann stores also have a
large customer base to draw from.
Their expansive, well-lit aisles are
always busy. And they have the
reputation of being a site where
smart shoppers go for a deal,
while at the same time contributing to the needs of the organiza-

tion and their
users.
Whitehorse
doesn’t have a
big enough population to support a
huge used-clothing
market like
Value Vil-

lage,
but we
do have a
handful of stores
that specialize in
used clothing and

Claire Strauss at the Whitehorse Flea
Market. I tore up there to see if it would
be a viable idea to sell my jeans there.

goods. I went on a mission to see if
one of them would take my jeans.
Here are the options I found:
Sequels Consignment
I tried Sequels Consignment
shop at 100, 303 Strickland St.
They get around being inundated
with unsellable stock by having
strict criteria for accepting clothing to be sold by consignment. On
the website, owner Tracy McLellan has one page devoted to what
brand names they prefer: nothing
from Reitmans, Mark’s, Denver
Hayes, or Warehouse One, for example.
If your items meet the specs,
then you must make an appoint-

ment online for a 10 minute dropoff slot. You may bring up to 15
suitable items, that are clean,
pressed and/or steamed and each
on its own hanger. You may have
only one appointment per month
and if the slots are all filled you
must wait until the next month.
Your items must be no more than
three years old.
Renueva
I found a new little shop at
508E Main St. called Renueva,
which stocks recycled clothing.
Proprietor Karin Martinez Gomez
started it as a sewing and alterations service and expanded to selling vintage and reworked items.
cont’d on page 27...

heritageyukon.ca

The 19th Annual Yukon/Stikine Regional Heritage Fair was held May 4, 2017 at the
Yukon Transportation Museum and the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse.

Sixty-six students from 13 schools in the Yukon and Atlin, B.C. participated, including:
Atlin Community School (ACS), Chief Zzeh Gittlit School (CZGS), Christ the King Elementary School (CKES), Elijah Smith Elementary
School (ESES), Eliza Van Bibber School (EVBS), Golden Horn Elementary School (GHES), Hidden Valley Elementary School (HVES), Jack
Hulland Elementary School (JHES), Kluane Lake School (KLS), Robert Service Community School (RSCS), St. Elias Community School
(SECS), Tantalus Community School (TCS), and Ecole Whitehorse Elementary School (EWES).
Grade 4 Awards
1st Place:
Who invented the life-saving suit?
by Ailie Robertson (GHES)
2nd Place:
How did 7 men from Dawson change
Stanley Cup history forever?
by Hannah Cibart (GHES)
3rd Place:
What is the Yukon Quest
by Leah Maclean and Sydney Sinclair
(EWES)

Grade 5 Awards
1st Place:
Gold Rush or Bone Rush?
by Anneke Aasman (CKES)
2nd Place:
Who made a great impact on Canadian
Music?
by Jazzen Patterson (GHES)
3rd Place:
History of Traditional Herbal Medicine
by Justine Bellmore-Smarch and Soraya
Oliverio (TCS)

Grades 6/7 Awards
1st Place:
The Frantic Follies
by Cadence Milford (GHES)
2nd Place:
Far from Home
by Shakina Johnson (SECS)
3rd Place:
Gwich’in People and their use of Dogs
by Tyra Benjamin (CZGS)

Yukon History Hunter Awards

Genealogy Awards:

Best Graphic Design:

Faith Fenton by Marie Mabilog (CKES)
AND Following in the Footsteps of
Funston’s 1893 Chilkoot Journey
by Kalie Bennett (GHES)

Short Circuit: Richard Thompson
by Ethan Thompson (SECS)
AND Soaring High by Brooklyn Miller
(SECS)

The Franklin Expedition
by Cadence Hartland (HVES)

Special Awards
for exceptional research and investigation in
developing a project, sponsored by Michael Gates

Palaeontology or Archaeology Award
Sponsored by Yukon Government Palaeontology
Department

Gold Rush or Bone Rush?
by Anneke Aasman (CKES)

Oral History: projects that demonstrate

exceptional use of Oral History, sponsored by
Linda Johnson and Lori Eastmure

Northern Tutchone Language and Culture
by Rena Simon (EVBS)

projects related to family stories and histories,
sponsored by Maggie Leary

Archives Award:

for projects that demonstrate use and citation
of archival resources, both in person/or online,
sponsored by Yukon Archives

How did 7 men from Dawson change
Stanley Cup history forever?
by Hannah Cibart (GHES)

Thank you to our many volunteers & organizers. Thank you to our 2017 Sponsors:

May 17, 2017

27

whatsupyukon.com

Take my jeans please... cont’d

Considered having a garage sale.
Even the thought made me tired.

She calls used clothing “treasures” to be altered, recycled and
loved. As a bonus, she is also a
certified second level reiki therapist and speaks Spanish. I asked
Karin if she would consider taking used clothing to sell and she
is happy to, either on consignment
or by donation.
I stopped by Second Show Kids
Consignment at 4200C 4th Ave., but
they were closed when I did; they
are open only 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday to Saturday. But their
policy for accepting clothing is
clearly posted on the door. Seems
another used clothing outlet was
learning from experience. As well,
their website says they can’t take
any clothes that came from Walmart, Superstore or Target, as
there would be little wiggle room
in the resale value – and resulting
consignment payout for the person who brought the clothes in.
The Free Store

I swung by Raven Recycling to check
out their free store. It was clean and
almost empty – which is not surprising
since their last day was May 8.

I swung by Raven Recycling to
check out their free store. It was
clean and almost empty – which is
not surprising since their last day
was May 8. I was disappointed to
hear they would close, too, especially after they had just received
funding to staff the free store.
However, according to their
website, they will take textiles
(fabric, clothing, sheets and
shoes) to be baled and shipped to
a broker in Vancouver for reuse
and recycling.
All For You Consignment
I called All For You Consignment, located at the bottom of
the Two Mile Hill. They take furniture and wool sweaters on consignment, but all other clothing
has to be donated because, as the
owner lamented, everyone expects to pay only one dollar.
Whitehorse Flea Market
The Whitehorse Flea Mar-

I found a new little shop at 508E
Main St. called Renueva, which
stocks recycled clothing.

ket had its first event on May 6,
next to Changing Gear, at the
top of Two Mile Hill, next to
ChangingGear, in the old Cliffside
Gardens location on the highway,
heading north. I tore up there to
see if it would be a viable idea
to sell my jeans there. Tables at
the first sale were all taken; many
folks took advantage of the opportunity. The atmosphere was jolly
and the ambience friendly. The
many tables boasted a variety of
bright and esoteric offerings. But
I couldn’t see myself sitting there
pushing my jeans. Perhaps I could
hire someone but that would put
me in the same boat as the Sally
Ann. More expense than return.
Sell it Yourself?
I considered having a garage
sale. Even the thought made me
tired. I’m not one for sitting on a
kitchen chair in my driveway and
negotiating the price of sentimental items. No, I will not take

I tried Sequels Consignment shop at
100, 303 Strickland St. They get around
being inundated with unsellable stock
by having strict criteria for accepting
clothing to be sold by consignment.

a quarter. And, yes, my jeans are
memorable.
I tried Kijiji. It’s either feast or
famine. While the site is easy to
use, and free, the anticipation of
a sale is crushing. Your item sells
immediately or never. And, it’s
difficult to photograph jeans so
that they look particularly inviting. And, no, modelling them was
not an option.
I thought of just throwing
my jeans away but that offends
my sensibilities and my recycling gene. Besides, I don’t know
whether they’re supposed to go in
the grey garbage bin or the green
compost bin. And, can you imagine having to remove the metal
buttons first?
So, here I sit with a pile of
jeans on my lap. While the Sally
Ann and the Raven Free Store are
no longer an option, I can check
with Sequels to see if my denim
measures up – that is if I can get in

this month or the next.
I can donate them to All For You
so they can sell them for a dollar
or donate them to Renueva to be
sold as-is or reworked.
I can try shrinking them so
they’ll fit at Second Show (haha)
or I can plan a yard sale and hope
it doesn’t rain. I can book a table
at the Flea Market and visit with
the other vendors. I can post
denim photos on Kijiji or take out
an ad in one of the newspapers.
Or, perhaps, I can lose weight or
grow taller or wake up with the
perfect body and just keep my
jeans.
Els Lundgaard is a Whitehorsebased writer. Questions or
comments about her articles
can be sent to editor@
whatsupyukon.com.

Now Here:
Your Favorite
Parts of
Summer
See us for your propane,
angling licenses, bait,
slushies and more.

107 Industrial Road • 867-667-6102

Open 7 days a week! Full Service!

28

whatsupyukon.com

May 17, 2017

Active Interest LISTINGS

Assisting Yukon film and video
professionals in developing
careers and businesses.
Next application deadline:

u
r
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s
e
s
C
g
n
i
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p
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INQUIRE ABOUT MULTI DAY
AND DAY TRIPS ON THE TATSHENSHINI,
TUTSHI RIVERS AND MORE

Introduction to Canoeing
Course provides you with the necessary skills to
maneuver through class 2 rapids.
1st course:
May 5, 6, and 7th
2nd course:
May 12,13 and 14th
3rd course:
May 19, 20 and 21st

Advanced Canoeing
Course provides you with the necessary skills to maneuver through class 3 rapids.
1st course:
May 26, 27 and 28th
2nd course:
June 2, 3, and 4th
Introduction to Kayaking
This course will give you the necessary skills to maneuver through class 2 rapids.
1st course:
May 24, 25, 27 and 28th
2nd course:
June 7, 8, 10 and 11th
TO ALL COURSES: WE SUPPLY DRY SUITS AND ALL EQUIPMENT!

Our years of experience, guiding nationally and internationally, plus, our extensive variety of training makes our
rescue program one the best and most comprehensive in
North America. Owners Bob Daffe and son Kevin Daffe are
Rescue Canada & ACA instructors. For the Daffe’s, running
rivers has been a family affair since 1982.
Advanced Kayaking
This course is designed to refine and extend the judgement and
technique of intermediate paddlers on class 3 and 4 white water.
July 19 & 20, July 22 & 23
Raft Guide Training
Course content includes practical training for raft guides including an oar and
paddle instruction
June 7 & 8, June 10 & 11
River Rescue
This course teaches basic rescue skills, including swimming/self-rescue, throw
ropes, and boat based rescue.
1st course:
May 29-31
2nd course:
June 6-8 and June 10,11
3rd course:
June 12-14 All Day
4th course:
July 24-26 All Day
Pack Raft Course
Introduction to packrafting course provides you with the necessary
skills to maneuver through class 2 and 3 rapids. Course is suitable
for complete beginners. No prior experience necessary.
May 17, 18, 20, and 21 (Boats provided)
Custom Courses:
Offering custom course lessons all summer to groups of 5 or more.

Method:
Cook rice as instructed on
package. If using a camp fire, not
a cook stove, I’ve found cooking over a low fire works best
for this (sometimes too a hot a
fire can make your rice rather…
crispy).
Mince the onions and garlic.
Set aside.
When rice is nearly ready,
put a deep cast iron pan on the
cookstove/grill. Let it get nice
and hot, add oil or butter. Toss
in the onions and garlic, stir and

Gypsy Goulash
Use what you got in the backcountry

W

hen you’re in the backcountry, sometimes you
don’t have a lot, but
you need something fast, tasty
and hot. This is a simple, highly
adaptable dish that can be made
almost anywhere, with a wide variety of ingredients.
This version uses kidney beans,

but any kind will do. Only the
eggs and tomatoes are essential.
It’s based on a substantially fancier version of a Chinese peasant
dish I first read about in the New
York Times; this version is much
simpler and designed for the cook
who has very little to work with.

PHOTO: Pixabay

Serves 2-3

allow to get
golden. Add in
wine and vinegar now if available, then the can of tomatoes
and beans. Add ketchup or barbecue sauce, salt and pepper
and
Sriracha to taste, then
sugar. Cover and allow to reduce
to a thick sauce – taste periodically. It should be sweet and a

Pour the still-runny eggs into the
saucepan, stir gently, cover and
cook 2 to 3 more minutes to finish
the eggs. The consistency should
be almost creamy with the addition of the eggs.
Remove from heat. Serve
over rice.

Are you planning
a multicultural
event?

little spicy, so add a little more
sugar or Sriracha to adjust the
flavour.
Heat a small pan while the
sauce is reducing. Crack the eggs
in a bowl and beat. Oil the pan
liberally, drop beaten eggs in and
very lightly cook for one minute
until the eggs are just barely set.

Multicultural associations in Yukon can
receive up to $5000 to hold public events
or festivities which celebrate and share
international cultural traditions with
Yukoners.
Applications can be submitted any time to
the New Canadians Event Fund.

Grab your Lunch and Get Ready to Boogie!
Arts in the Park kicks off on May 23rd
by Aislinn Cornett

G

et ready, get set, and
don’t forget to bring a
lunch! Arts in the Park is
about to head into another spectacular season of performing arts
over lunch hour at Whitehorse’s
LePage Park.
Most locals are well acquainted
with this beloved weekday tradition, where long time residents
and spellbound wanderlusts gather together to enjoy music, art
and community over brown bag
lunches.
This year marks the 21st year
for the annual summer festival
and will feature shows from noon
to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday, as
well as youth oriented shows on
Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8
p.m. Arts in the Park also hosts
one visual artist per week, who
collaborates, interacts with and
showcases their creative endeavours to show attendees.
There’s a lot to love about this
long running concert series. It’s
free, all ages are welcome and it’s
centrally located in the downtown
area. The best part? You’re sure
to get your fix of both established
and emerging artists. This year’s
lineup features 60 performing artists over 11 weeks from kickoff on
Tuesday, May 23rd to close on Friday, August 4th.
“The goal is to have a variety
of genres, and to think about a
balance between emerging versus
established artists,” Producer and
programmer, Geneviève Doyon
says, adding that the selection
process is no walk in the park.
This year, over 90 performing artists applied to be part of the festival.
“It’s Arts in the Park’s mandate
to make room for emerging artists
and bands that people don’t know

about,” says Doyon. “We want a
balance of gender, age and cultural backgrounds, so there’s a lot to
take into consideration.”
This unique blend of raw talent and experience is what makes
the festival so special. As Doyon
explains, Arts in the Park features
seasoned veterans with decades
of songwriting experience and
shows behind them, and contrastingly, musicians or bands who have
never set foot on stage before.
“The process has taught me,
even if you think you know all
the bands in town, you don’t,”
says Doyon, who has been producing the summer series for three
years. She had her first foray into
this festival during her cheechako
summer in the Yukon, where she
worked as an associate producer
alongside Yukon musician, Steve
Slade. Slade started Arts in the
Park with Dereen Hildebrand in
1996 through the Yukon Art Society. He produced the summer festival for 18 years until 2015, when
Doyon took over the prestigious
position.
While Doyon is the face of Arts
in the Park, she is quick to point
out that many people are involved
in making the event possible, including the Music Yukon staff and
board, and the many contributing sponsors. Doyon will also be
flanked by two summer interns,
an associate producer and a sound
technician.
Though it’s her third year at
the helm, the selection process
doesn’t seem to be getting any
easier, with the interest and quality of performers on the rise.
Doyon says the process is humbling, and she learns about many
“closet bands” who have jammed
together for years, but perhaps
never ventured out of house.

This year, Doyon is amped up
and ready to produce another season of amazing music, with a personal twist. As a first time mom to
a four-month-year-old, she laughs
that she’s both “mortified and excited” to have her son with her at
Arts in the Park.
While other moms might think
she’s crazy to produce a festival
with baby in tow, Doyon says she’s
fortunate to work with Arts in the
Park and Music Yukon, and to be
able to bring her son to work.
“Until I was a mom I didn’t
realize how easy it is to push new
mothers aside,” Doyon says. “It’s
about time as a community we
make space for kids to be there
and allow that flexibility.”
She notes that Arts in the Park
welcomes new parents, families
and daycares. Kids day is on Wednesday in the park, where daycares roll in and take over the
park with exuberant enthusiasm.
Along with musicians, the
lunchtime shows will also feature
other art forms like dance, poetry
and spoken word.
While most performers are local acts, this year’s festival will
showcase Chrys Salt, a poet from
the United Kingdom, who will be
collaborating with Whitehorse
classical guitarist Nicholas Mah.
Arts in the Park will also host
Canadian prairie troubadour Matt
Epp, who will be passing through
Whitehorse on his motorbike tour
(he’ll be playing at this year’s Atlin Arts and Music Festival as well).
While there’s always room for
new, the festival also celebrates
longtime balladeers and fan favourites like The Canucks, who
have been playing music together
for over 50 years, and frequenting
LePage Park since the festival’s
inception. Doyon fondly remem-

PHOTOS: Alistair Maitland Photography

The band, The Olympic Symposium, plays to a
full crowd at Arts in the Park 2016.
bers her first summer in the park,
when she was charmed to watch
the Canucks play.
Every weekday presents a different act and a new flavour for
you to try.
“The point of Arts in the Park
is there is a built in audience of
people who come to the park and
eat their lunch no matter what,”
Doyon says. “So it’s a cool opportunity to expose people to music
or arts that they wouldn’t go out
and see otherwise.”
She comments that many audience members have said that unconventional shows exposed them
to something new, and this expansion of horizon (and comfort) is
what it’s all about.
As in past summers, there will
also be musical panels, a tradition
started by Slade, where seven
to eight songwriters are given
themes and asked to create and
share songs to Arts in the Park
audiences.
This is a unique opportunity for
spectators to see songs that have
never been performed before.
The panel also provides a platform for seasoned and emerging
performers to share the stage and
their stories in songs.
“There’s something to be said
about performers putting themselves out there and playing songs
for the first time. It’s exciting for
artists and for the audience.”
The Wednesday evening shows
are funded by the Youth Investment Fund and promote an all
ages, substance free environment
to enjoy performing arts. The pro-

gramming is catered to youth and
also features youth bands, and as
Doyon says, is growing in popularity.
“The evening show is for the
louder stuff as well, the kind of
stuff you wouldn’t want to eat a
sandwich on your lunch break to,”
Doyon says with a laugh.
This year, the punk rock band
Hoarfrost will be playing and taking loudness to a whole new level.
As there aren’t many venues for
heavy music, Doyon says she’s excited to see the turnout.
Not only does Arts in the Park
provide a daily social outing for
many individuals, but a welcome
flux of hungry clientele for local businesses in the area. Doyon
emphasizes just how fortunate
Yukoners are to be able to enjoy a
summer packed full with talented
performing and visual artists.
“We are so lucky as a community to have free music every day
rain or shine for 11 weeks,” Doyon
says. “Sometimes I wonder why
there’s not 300 people in the park
everyday.”
Arts in the Park takes place
everyday this summer at Lepage
Page in downtown Whitehorse,
located at 3128 3rd Avenue. For
a schedule of performing artists and visual artists, visit www.
ArtsintheParkYukon.com or check
out their Facebook page.
Aislinn Cornett is a freelance
writer, artist and art therapist
currently writing and living on
the beach in Mexico.

2200 2nd Ave,
Whitehorse
668-6305
Mon-Sat: 9 AM-6 PM,
Sun: 10 AM-5 PM

inspiredinteriorswhitehorse.ca

May 17, 2017

31

whatsupyukon.com

Photo: Michael MacLean

summer starts here.

June 7-11

upcoming events

Three nights of music and two nights of literary readings.
A series of artist/author talks, screenprinting jams and
printmaking demonstrations richly fill the days between.
Full details: DawsonPrintFestival.com

Welcome to Canada’s Best Value Inn
Combining newly renovated rooms
and historic turn of the century
atmosphere, we are located in the
heart of Dawson City, Home of the
“Sourtoe Cocktail”

KlondikeExperience.com

DowntownHotel.ca

Klondike Kate's CABINS
& Restaurant

GREAT RIVER AIR

Stay with us while in Dawson City! Enjoy
the privacy of your own cabin where
rustic elegance meets modern comfort!
Eat delicious food at our restaurant;
inside or on our great patio.

KlondikeKates.ca

We operate fixed-wing aircraft on
demand for flight-seeing tours of the
Tombstone Mountains or Dawson
Goldfields.
Custom tours are available.

Call 867-993-4359 to inquire or book
GreatRiverAir.com

Klondike national
historic sites

dAWSON CITY GOLF COURSE

Pc.gc.ca/klondike

DawsonGolf@Hotmail.ca

The search for gold in the Klondike
captivated the world and transformed
our nation, its people, and its cultures.
Come find out the stories that make
Dawson's history unique!
photo credit: Parks Canada /Mueller

The Yukon’s most scenic and unique
golf course. Tee-off nearly any time of
day under the midnight sun. Located
across the Yukon River in Sunnydale.
(867)993-2500